Sunrise
by Mocha Flavored Jelly Beans
Summary: AU: "He's tall, brooding, intelligent, misunderstood, and quite appealing with his dark skin and light eyes. Jack finds that he just wants to be near Pitch, monster or not." Slight ROTGxLittle Monsters Crossover. Black Ice. Full Summary Inside :) [I don't own ROTG or LM] please R&R ;)
1. Chapter 1

_Summary_

_AU: Jack could admit that he was a bit of a trouble maker. Even sometimes when he didn't mean to cause any trouble at all, it seemed to find him. He pulled pranks, sure, because he had a streak of rebellion and a love of mischief. However, Even Jack has limits and he is not about to be blamed for everything that goes wrong just because it's convenient. And although no one believes him, Jack is pretty sure the culprit is the monster that lives under his bed. His only chance to clear his name lies within catching it and proving, once and for all, that he isn't a complete screw up. But what happens when Jack finds the monster and he is nothing like Jack expected. He's tall, brooding, intelligent, misunderstood, and quite appealing with his dark skin and light eyes. Jack finds that he just wants to be near him, monster or not. Slight ROTGxLittle Monsters Crossover. Black Ice._

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_Preface_

Jack was, hilariously, surprised that he was even surprised; that he had the room for it at this point. He was even more surprised that he had the space in his head at all for coherent thought, at least for now, considering he was absolutely terrified, and _cold_ …so very cold.

When the darkness closed around him, it was slow, and, for some strange reason, intoxicating. He hadn't even _noticed_ the shadows at first. It made Jack think of soft kisses given by a lover in the moonlight; kisses so unimposing, they might have been imagined. But Jack wasn't imagining this, he knew, because he could feel the darkness all around him and it was _substantial_, which was strange because as heavy as the shadows were, they also felt light, like wisps of smoke, curling around his body and floating to the ceiling.

Unlike moonlit kisses, sadly, there was not anything loving about this darkness. It was filled, instead, with despair and the promise of pain, but it was alluring all the same. Jack couldn't even begin to fathom what it was about this darkness, laced with suffering, which had him wanting to stay in it. He thought that, just maybe, there was once a time when he'd known why the shadows were so appealing, but the knowledge was lost to him now. Jack felt as though he were going crazy. He could already feel the shadows manipulating him, hurting him; like he were being burned and simultaneously recharged by electricity. The more time he spent in there, the more he wanted to _be_ in there.

Jack had enough sense to know that he'd had this coming, because he had walked in here and offered everything that he was, to save the one that he loved. But he was dying and he was so sure, at first, that this wasn't how it was _supposed_ to happen. He tried to think everything through in its entirety, but as he struggled to breathe and to stay awake through the pain of it all, he started to forget how he'd thought it would end. He started to think that maybe he was suppose to die, because if there was any other way this could have happened he couldn't wrap his mind around it; it was a phantom in his thoughts, and just out of reach. And anyway, if this wasn't how it was suppose to happen, he reasoned as he felt himself drift into unconsciousness, it wouldn't hurt so much.


	2. Snow

_Chapter 1_

As a general rule, Jack loved snow, always had. That was, actually, kind of an understatement; Jack was completely in love with snow, enamored. Snow was, up until very recently, quite elusive and extremely beautiful. He'd grown up thinking that just maybe snowflakes were cold crystals of magic falling from the sky.

It hardly ever snowed where he was from; he waited all year, every year, for it to be cold enough. Even then it didn't snow everyday like he wanted it to. Where Jack lived they would get, if they were lucky, about 8 inches of snow a year. It was a novelty and he cherished every second of it. He always watched it through a high window if he were able, because he wanted the best view and he didn't appreciate it as much from the ground looking up. It was still stunning, of course, but less so.

He had always cherished the snow, for as long as he could remember, and he never had much of a reason except that it was so beautiful that it made his heart ache. But after that day (probably his favorite day ever), he really loved snow.

It had snowed on that day, so long ago. At least, to Jack, it seemed like it was long ago, like several lifetimes ago. There were times when he honestly couldn't mentally grasp that he was only seventeen years old and not three hundred years old instead.

He had been, very much like he was right now, looking through a window at the snow fall-except that time he'd been enormously fascinated with it-and he'd noticed, walking through the snow and into the iron gate, what was possibly the biggest man he had ever seen in his short little 7 year old life. This man was so large that it was intimidating, his forearms were massive, Jack could see them through his red fur coat, and would not have been surprised to see swords hidden under there, or a colossal battle axe. He was tall (at least six foot one) with large black boots that were probably steel-toed. Even his long white beard and big mustache looked like they could handle themselves in a fight. Maybe there were swords hidden under there, too.

To Jack, he looked like some sort of great warrior and in that instant, he knew this man was capable of anything he wanted to do, anything at all, because it was clear just how powerful he was; and Jack dared to hope that he was going to get saved by this warrior. He wanted to be rescued so desperately that sometimes he couldn't breathe; the weight of it heavy on his lungs. It was the first time in a long while that he actually thought that maybe someone, anyone, would see something enough in him that they would want to take him home. It felt like forever that he'd been invisible to everybody and, quite frankly, he was getting damned tired of no one looking at him.

Jack had, like most others, hoped a lot in the beginning. He had come from a loving home and he was desperate to get back to something like that. It wasn't that he didn't miss his mother (because he missed her so much that for a while he thought it would kill him not to see her anymore), and it wasn't him trying to replace her (because she was so absolutely perfect and one of a kind that there was no replacing her), but he had been very loved and he felt like a piece of himself was missing without that level of affection. Remembering how it had been was the only thing that kept him reasonably sane with those long days and nights that he spent by himself, with no one there who really understood him.

He tried to be polite, charming, and handsome. He was older than what most wanted and there wasn't anything that could be done about that. And he had nothing that was special enough for them to overlook his age, he'd figure out eventually. There was something about smaller children that appealed more to the couples that came into the orphanage, excuse Jack, child-care-facility (like that wasn't a load of total crap if he'd ever heard one).

It was true there was a stigma that went along with referring to the children as orphans, but deliberately playing with words was something Jack had never quite seen the point in. They were orphans, and he didn't think that made them any better or any worse than any other children anywhere, and surely people had to know that, right? He would discover that he was wrong. Not just about his beliefs, but himself, in general, he was just wrong. Jack wasn't sure what it was about him, but people just dismissed him and passed him over. Repeatedly.

The first time it had happen it had hurt so much that he thought maybe passing out would be a suitable alternative, just to get away from it all. They might as well have walked right through him for all the attention they didn't pay. It had been the first Sunday of the month and they were having a gathering at the orphanage (yea, that's right, orphanage). It was a cookout; Jack would smell the charcoal burning through his nightmares for years to come. They wanted to get the neighborhood together to see the children, see how lovely and in need they were; wanted to manipulate the people into donating, and maybe taking some home.

Jack wasn't even surprised at the turnout (which was reasonable), because it was at a time when he still believed in hope. People smiled at him, it was always that way (even now) because he smiled wide with his sparkling teeth and his big icy blue eyes were innocent and inviting …and then they kept walking. Every single one of them. Some were polite enough that they would ask him how he was, but they never stayed and they didn't care because they really wanted to talk to the children who were smaller and, Jack thought, cuter. He was as cute as he could make himself; he'd brushed his hair (not that it helped very much) and even wore his only tie (solid gray and striped with the same blue of his eyes).

He stood proud and smiled, telling them, 'hello my name is Jackson, and I'm quite pleased to meet you' so that they would see how polite and well behaved he was. It didn't work, even though he had practiced all night. After awhile, a year or so, he decided to simply stop trying. It didn't matter how inviting his eyes, or how wide his smile; he wasn't going to be looked at, people only seemed to ever look through him like he didn't exist, and so he stopped coming to the events; and there were lots of events: cookouts, bake sales, Christmas caroling, and more. All designed to get the children into the community so that people could see them, but no one ever saw Jack.

There was no reason for him to try anymore if they wanted younger Children, because he was only going to get older. He would, instead, isolate himself in his room, and wonder what it was about everyone else that seemed to draw people in, and how he'd managed to lose his. To be fair, he wasn't the only child who got looked over, but that didn't help anything and it didn't stop him from thinking that maybe he had done something wrong.

The warrior, as Jack would think of him for years to come, was followed by a woman that Jack thought was almost as beautiful as him own mother. She had thick long tightly coiled sand-colored hair that wasn't even half covered by her furry hat (the same red as the man's coat, although her own coat was a dark brown), even longer legs, and skin that looked like coffee with lots of cream. Jack knew that the two of them were together because the big man waited for her just inside of the gate took he took her hand as they walked on and disappeared in the direction of the building door. The way that the building was shaped, Jack couldn't actually see them walk inside, but he knew that they were there. He wished they'd come and take him.

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Note from your Author: Oh, heyyyyy my name is, obviously, Mocha flavored Jelly Beans, you can just call me Mocha for short ;). I had an old S/N on here that I used to post twilight fanfiction, but after the monstrosity that was the twilight movie, I lost my muse. So now I'm back and very much in love with rise of the guardians. Feel free to PM and review and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you guys.

-XO


	3. Mr & Mrs

_Chapter 2_

Half an hour went by and Jack's hope diminished as quickly as it had sprung up. They had obviously already picked someone else. He knew he'd somehow done the wrong thing, just like always; he should have gone downstairs and at least _tried_ to speak with them. _Something_. He wasn't above begging. He moved from the window because he didn't want to see them walk away with any child who wasn't him. He threw himself, depressed, onto his bed which felt even more uncomfortable than usual because he was in a bad mood. He wouldn't let it bring him to tears, he'd cried enough in the beginning. He was slowly becoming bitter, which wasn't a good thing to add to his natural wave of stubbornness.

Jack nearly had a heart attack when Ms. Madison called to him, through his closed door, and told him that there were people down stairs that wanted to meet him. She was a woman who was almost as large as the big man with the beard; if his stature was intimidating hers was just plain scary. It didn't help at all that she wasn't always nice. She was mostly in charge of the orphanage, which really just meant that she liked to boss the children around. Jack sort of hated her.

She told him that he'd _better_ get dressed (even though he already was). She didn't yell, but she might as well have for all the distaste that leaked into her voice. It was no secret that she picked favorites, and Jack certainly wasn't one of them because he refused to kiss up to her whenever he was in trouble; he may be orphaned, but he had _some _pride left. Any other time Jack would have looked crossly at the door and maybe stuck up a middle finger for good measure, but right now he had something else on his mind.

He'd waited 3 very long years for someone to talk to him and suddenly he realized that he had no idea what to say. It wasn't like the first time, when he had practiced all night, because he wasn't expecting this. He hadn't prepared and it was scaring him to death. His anxiety threatened to take him quickly into unconsciousness, every time his heart beat (hard) his vision clouded. Jack was getting dizzy thinking that maybe this would be the only chance he got and he knew he'd _better_ make a good impression. He took a deep breath and went to open his door, running a hand through the disaster that was his brown hair; wiry and unruly. It was too late to try to do anything with it, but he was glad that he had at least showered that morning and brushed his teeth; he'd be clean and smell good and maybe that would help to take the attention off of his hair. He took a reassuring breath, nice and slow.

As he turned the knob, he thought that the stairs might give him crucial seconds to prepare something good to say. But He was stunned into silence, not that he knew what he was about to say anyway, when he opened the door and there stood the couple. Jack knew that he had his mouth wide open, but what he didn't know was how he was going to close it, ever again. The couple broke into smiles simultaneously,

"catching flies?" the woman asked him, amusement dancing through her words. Jack thought he was in love already because they both had beautiful smiles with very nice teeth, and he was glad for her sense of humor. He closed his mouth. Their smiles, impossible as it seemed, widened. Jack looked at them in wonder.

If they didn't take him home, he'd die, he was suddenly _so_ sure, because no one would ever compare to these two; their smiles were warm and alluring and he dared to flirt with the possibility that there was love there, from them, for _him_. Was it too soon? It didn't matter to Jack; they looked at him the way Jack had been dreaming about for years, like they were happy to see him.

"I could not wait any longer!" the man told him loudly, his voice thick with his obvious good nature and an accent that Jack would later find out was from Russia.

"Yeah, my either," the woman echoed playfully, "we've waited, like, maybe our whole entire lives for you and the stairs were just kind of ridiculous after all _that_," she winked at Jack, waving her hands in a dismissive gesture in reference to the stairs. He wasn't nervous anymore. He thought she was funny with her over-the-top sarcasm. That didn't mean, however, that he wasn't going to pass out, he hadn't decided yet.

"I'm Jackson, and I'm quite pleased to meet you both," it was the only thing he could think to say and he knew he should say _something_. He didn't want to beg them to take him if he didn't have to. He gave them his widest smile, and it was completely genuine. He hadn't missed the fact that she had said that the two of them waited their whole lives for him. Him! Jack didn't think it would be a good idea to jump around enthusiastically, but he so wanted to.

He couldn't believe it. Her smile widened and Jack felt like he must have said the smartest thing ever, because that smile was over flowing with pride. He still recognized it, because love and pride and good feelings had been given in abundance by his mother. He missed her terribly.

The man held out his hand to Jack, who didn't hesitate to shake it. Jack could feel his strength, even though he hadn't even squeezed jack's hand, and hadn't shaken too hard. It was magnificent.

"Strong grip," the man told him, smiling, taking his hand out of Jack's and putting it on the boys shoulder and squeezing like he and Jack had done this their whole lives. The man had sounded so pleased. Jack could smell wood and pine and he was delighted by it, because it reminded him of winter which was, of course, his favorite season.

Okay, Jack was totally going to pass out, it was overwhelming.

"Jackson, meet Mr. and Mrs. North," Ms. Madison told him in that cold and clinical way that she said everything to the children she wasn't fond of, "they want to adopt you," she went on. She sounded, as always, very bored, with the hint of a sneer in her tone, even though her face held no real expression. She was behaving like this wasn't the best news anyone had ever gotten. Maybe it was because she didn't see why anyone would want to adopt Jack. Whatever it was, it really didn't matter right now. Jack was just glad that's someone, finally, wanted him. So glad, in fact, that for once how much she didn't care, didn't trouble him. He didn't even look at her for long.

"We were thinking, yes, that we would meet you first in case you didn't like us," Mr. North told him, then laughed loudly as though the idea was so ludicrous he couldn't hold it back. He might have well said, 'of course you do.'

Maybe it _was_ silly, Jack thought, because he loved them already. Jack found that he even loved this man's laugh; loud and sure and stable.

"I like you, I really, really do" jack told them, his voice quite desperate, because he was suddenly afraid that if he didn't prove it, they would leave, thinking he didn't want to come with them. He knew what it was like to not feel wanted, so he threw himself forward and hugged them both at once, nice and tight (they way Jack had wished to be hugged for _so_ long), hoping that they would feel what he felt (loving and grateful) and take him home. They hugged him back (though Mr. North grunted in surprise first) and Jack knew then and there that he was going with them. There was _something_ in that moment. _Magic_, Jack thought, _probably from the snow_. _Thank God it snowed today_!

"We saw you online and we knew you were for us" the woman told him softly when he finally let them go, it was probably true that the hug had gone on for a little too long, but it had been a long time since Jack had felt any real affection and he was starved for it. It wasn't the same when the smaller children who lived there flocked to Jack and always had sticky hands around his waist. He loved children, but what he was looking for couldn't be found there.

She had bent slightly and it was so obvious that she wanted to be gentle and nonthreatening. Jack looked up at her and knew that he could never be afraid of her anyway, he nearly laughed at the thought.

"Online?" he asked them, completely taken by surprise. Jack wasn't sure what he thought about how they had come to decide that they wanted him, he wasn't even sure he cared, really. If Jack had given it any thought at all, he probably would have convinced himself that Ms. Madison had begged someone to take him, since she didn't like him and probably wanted him out. The important thing right now was that someone saw and talked to him and touched him. He didn't care how or why, maybe he would later. He just wanted to hug them again, but he was worried he'd scare them off. They'd clearly said that they wanted him, _waited_ for him even, but they could change their minds, he held back and decided he'd try to hug them later.

Jack had learned pretty quickly at the orphanage that not everyone was open to the sort of physical affection he was used to sharing. Some of the others didn't like to be touched, so much so that they would scream and cry. One had hit Jack in his face, and Ms. Madison had acted as though he had deserved every centimeter of the bruise that followed. Jack wondered what that was about, because he loved to be hugged. But he had stopped giving people unsolicited hugs after a while, and then the only ones to hug him had been the children.

"Yes! You have whole profile on website, we were looking to adopt child and we knew you'd be perfect!" Mr. North told him, eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile. They were almost as blue as Jack's.

Jack didn't even have an opportunity to wonder what his profile said before, unexpectedly, he thought that he really _was_ passing out, because he suddenly couldn't see. It took him a moment (an embarrassingly long one) to realize that he wasn't passing out, his vision was blurring because his eyes were welling with tears.

Mrs. North made a noise that was loud and clear and high pitched. It clearly meant that she thought this was the sweetest thing shed ever seen and Jack cried harder, sobbed truth be told. She got on her knees and hugged him, "it's been hard for you, hasn't it?" she asked like she cared, like she understood, and he tried to tell her, through his tears and the thickness in his throat, that it felt like one hundred and fifty years had gone by with no one giving a damn, but he couldn't speak. He only nodded.

He briefly heard Ms. Madison say something about paperwork and when he looked up, she was gone and so was Mr. North, but Mrs. North had stayed holding him so long that he knew she would have bruises on her knees. When he started to sniffle and laugh because he was so thrilled, she pulled back and looked at his face long and hard and he thought she was beautiful; her lips full and red, her cheek bones high and rosy her eyes the darkest brown he'd ever seen, but filled with warmth. Jack was glad to see it there. He'd been an orphan for years, but he still remembered what it had been like when his mom had looked at him like that, and the emotion behind it was pretty unmistakable.

She smiled, just a little; it was nothing like her wide smile from earlier, this one was small and wrapped in sweetness. She wiped his tears away with the palms of her hands and took a deep breath like she was the one who had been crying. It was a wonder that he didn't feel nervous about crying near them, he hadn't thought, even for a second that it would drive them away. There was something about them, he had felt it the moment he had seen them and even more so when he'd hugged them, and he knew now that they would be his parents.

Though they didn't bring him home for a few days. It might have driven him crazy but, to tell the truth, he sort of liked the excitement of it. They visited him every day. They had told him (more specifically Mr. North had told him) 'we are wanting to teach you lesson about waiting.' Jack almost told him that he had waited for years, but thought better of it.

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A/N:

Little orphaned Jack just breaks my poor heart .. i LOVE him :)

ps. THANK YOU to all who read and what not i'm so pleased. feel free to review and pm me to tell me what you think so far =]


	4. That Night

_Chapter 3_

They'd stayed most of the day after Mr. North had come back from whatever paperwork Ms. Madison had for him, and talked with Jack in his room, played with him. The three of them were on his bed, which Jack thought was pretty great because his bed was a twin and there was hardly any room; being squished with them made it feel like they were already a real family. They told him that he was welcome to call them by their first names, Nicolas and Lillian (Nick and Lily). He agreed, even as desperate as he was he was not ready for the mom and dad thing.

Jack and Lily had ended up lying on their sides, faces turned toward one another, like gossiping teenagers at a sleepover. Nick was sitting upright behind Jack; one leg hanging over the side of the bed, the other knee bent and touching Jacks back. Every so often Nick would lean forwards and ruffle Jacks hair affectionately when a joke passed through them. Jack loved it, he'd been missing physical attention quite badly and he craved it. He had to resist the urge to close his eyes and hum in appreciation.

Jack would have been happy to sit there just like they were, enjoying each other's company; he didn't think that he would get tired of looking into Lily's big brown eyes, them both laughing afterward. Jack wanted to talk too. He wanted everything he had been missing at once. It made him giddy, thinking that he was actually having this.

"Soooooo," Lily drawled playfully, "Tell us about you," she had a fist pressed to her cheek to emphasize her focus, which Jack found comical. He had seen enough television to participate in her joke, "I like long walks on the beach, and expensive dinners!" Nick and Lily laughed loudly and Jack was very proud of himself. That had been the first time Nick touched his hair and Jack was glad to know that the fact that it could not be tamed didn't seem to bother them.

"You have good sense of humor," Nick told him, still chuckling.

"But we really wanna know what you do with your time," Lily finished.

"I want to know about you guys, though," Jack told them, "I'm sure it is much more interesting." Jack left it at that, he didn't have the guts to tell them about what a failure everyone seemed to think he was. The fact that, at some point, he'd started to agree. There was nothing very special about him, he'd found out the hard way.

Lily considered him a moment, then shrugged as if to indicate that she could play along, go with the flow.

"We're wizards," she said low in a serious tone. Jack smiled; he could play with them all night like this.

"Yes, and we use our powers for the fighting of crime at night, when all the children of the world are asleep," Jack was surprised to find out that Nick could in fact, whisper quietly. Jack laughed because he could see Nick fighting crime for real.

"Can you guys teach me magic then?" Jack asked and he was almost serious, because like every other child ever, he wanted magical powers. He had always thought it might be nice to control the snow.

"I can teach you to see all the magic that is already there," Nick told him, placing his fingers in Jack's hair in that way that was already becoming so familiar. It would be years before Jack thought he finally understood what Nick had meant.

It was another few minutes of them joking about their jobs (Dragon slayers, vampire hunters, freak show performers; Lily had said she was the bearded lady and jack laughed until his eyes got teary) before Jack found out that Nick was a painter and Lily was a pharmacist. Jack didn't know much about medicine, but he did most certainly like art and he told them as much. Nick laughed, "I know these things Jack!" and ruffled his hair again.

"We saw on internet that you draw, your teachers say you are best artist in whole class!" Jack blushed crimson, "I guess," was his only reply. It was difficult to be complimented when he spent a great deal of his time alone, thinking that maybe he might be worthless. He was glad of the compliment all the same. Nick and Lily both Laughed. "I can't paint though" he told Nick, and he sounded just a bit crestfallen because he didn't want to disappoint Nick who had already told him how much he loved to paint, Jack had never really tried to paint much, because he found it so much easier to draw in pencil and then color it in.

"Already in my hands; I will show you, of course!" Nick told him, back to being totally loud. Jack Smiled, he loved art and he had no aversion to learning anything about it.

"My mom couldn't draw at all" Jack told them, and he smiled to remember all of her stick figures. His mother's death was a sore spot, but he liked to talk about her. He never really got much of an opportunity.

"Yeah?" Lily asked, she was prompting him to go on, but not pushing, and Jack was grateful.

"Yeah, she was pretty terrible," Jack laughed in his throat, a single sound, "Stick figures, mostly." He decided to leave it at that, baby steps; if he went into a full length story, after having been emotionally overwhelmed several times in one day, he was going to break.

They waited for him to say something more and when he didn't, Lily told him that she couldn't draw either, and that the most she could mange was a fortune teller out of notebook paper. It was her art, she told him, and she was _quite_ proud.

"Thank _God_ that we found you, now Nicolas will have someone else to harass about art techniques, the different types of canvass, brushes …bases of paint!" she sniffed, displeased, and Nick laughed

"It's going to be thing just for us, then Jack, because Lillian is right, she is no artist and even her fortune tellers are not very good!" they all laughed and Lily hit Nick with a pillow, which made them laugh that much harder. _Just a thing for us, huh?_

Jack was thinking about how much he could get used to this, when he realized that he already was.

-Page Break -

Tears were spilling when they told him good night and kissed his tear stained cheeks (Lily kissed the left, Nick, the right; at the same time). "Don't be sad, silly! We'll be here bright and early tomorrow. Well early for us is nine o'clock" Lily told him, laughing softly.

"Yes, it will be first family adventure for us! We will take you some place we _know_ you like." Nick told him loudly, eyes sparkling.

Jack didn't cry long after they were gone, because after a while he decided he was more excited than sad and the anticipation was killing him. They hadn't said where they were taking him, and he had definitely tried to ask.

"No," Nick told him, "I _like_ surprises! You're not getting anything out of _me_!" he said it with such a conviction that Jack knew he would be impossible to crack.

"Or me," Lily chimed in softly, winking. Jack thought she sounded less certain, and if he could have separated them and asked her alone, he might have been able to find out where they were going.

Jack secretly hoped there would be ice-cream involved. It was winter, true, but the cold had never bothered him anyway.

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Ok the next chapter will have their first family adventure, but not the last and I'm pretty pleased, because dialogue has never ever been my strong suit and I think I did ok … what do you guys think? =]

Ps THANK YOU to all who have read and the few who took the time to follow and fave and review guys all rock my socks !


	5. Painting

_Painting_

Jack tried his hardest to sleep; he maneuvered into every position he could think of (even some that would have seemed uncomfortable had anyone seen them, with the way he'd flexibly twisted himself up), he tried to fluff his pillow, he tried every combination of blankets off and on, and he even tried to count sheep!

None of it worked, because he was too excited.

His heart was beating hard in his chest and he honestly felt like he needed to do something; run, jump, do a series of intricate flips, or _something_. He knew that it was in his best interest to not do any of those things because his room was upstairs and if anyone heard him awake and told Ms. Madison, he'd be in a world of trouble. It crossed his mind that she might tell him he wasn't allowed to go tomorrow and the very thought of being kept from going to whatever magical place Nick had in mind, was enough to calm his racing heart.

Not enough to make him sleep though.

Ms. Madison hated him, of this Jack was more than sure. Not that she cared for many people, but he thought maybe she hated him the most. The biggest problem was that he wasn't a butt-kisser. It was obvious to anyone, even seven year old Jack, that she thought she was the most important person on the face of the earth. She walked tall and with her nose held high in the air (there were a series of jokes the children made about the better angle she had to sniff their farts, and Jack had thought it was pretty genius, since he had started them of course). The way that she spoke to most people suggested, very much, that she had better things to do, and Jack often wondered why she wouldn't just get a new job or drop dead.

He didn't care very much for her, either.

Ms. Madison, like everyone else, hadn't even bothered to notice him until he'd gotten into some trouble. He'd let some older children talk him into going outside with them while they lit cigarettes they'd stolen from a convenience store on the way home from school. Jack knew that smoking was wrong because his mother had told him of the dangers and he'd refused to try one, but he thought it wouldn't be so bad to stand with them. He enjoyed their company (because he was never included in anything and he _desperately _wanted to belong), even if he didn't know what they were laughing about and the smoke burned his eyes. All the kids had thought they would be safe because they'd gone behind the building and were out of site and earshot. Ms. Madison, only behind her back, would later be called a hound dog because she had sniffed them out, telling them of how she could smell the smoke a mile away. They'd all gotten into a lot of trouble and were not allowed to go anywhere but school for a month. To top it all off, the kids that Jack had gone outside with had told her that he'd stolen the cigarettes for them, and she hadn't let him explain at all, and _obviously_ hadn't asked herself how it made any sense when he was the only one who was not smoking when she'd found them, let alone that he was only six years old and the others were 11 and 12.

Jack knew then that she was a moron.

It was a short time later that things started to go missing from other children's rooms and their backpacks. It was mostly little things (since the children in the orphanage didn't have all that much anyway); calculators, pens, candy, toys. She'd blamed Jack right away, with no evidence because he wasn't a thief.

Jack had been coloring in his room, lonely and bored, when Ms. Madison had stormed in, the doorknob banging harshly into the wall and leaving a small hole.

"I know it was you," she said sourly, acid dripping from everything about her; the way she loomed over him, pointed, stared.

Jack, stunned and afraid, didn't even know what she was talking about. He'd told her as much and she'd called him a liar.

"When I find out that you did it, I'm going to kick you right out and let you live outside for _lying_." Jack was petrified; he could barely get out enough words to ask her what she was talking about.

"You little thief, how dare you come in here and steal?" Her face was beginning to turn red from her anger. He'd heard about the thief, no one had actually talked to him about it, but he'd been close enough to hear other people's conversations, like they didn't care if he was within earshot or not, and no one ever thought to encourage him to join them. If Jack hadn't known any better, he would swear they simply couldn't see him.

"You don't know anything!" He'd told her, and he knew he sounded angry and was being too loud, but he figured she had it coming for accusing him of something he didn't do. His thoughts were boiling over him, the biggest component, his fear, quickly turned to anger; adrenaline making his hands shake.

"I don't steal," He'd told her stubbornly crossing his arms, and trying hard to glare back with as much spite and scorn as she mustered up effortlessly.

She looked taken aback for maybe half a moment, before she looked back at him with even more anger and spite. She was good at this, Jack had no clue how to expel such venom, but he tried.

They argued. Every time she said something rude to him, he tried to match it. He wouldn't be outdone and this was the second time she had tried to blame him for something that he had nothing to do with. She called him a brat and he called her a witch, before she finally realized that he wouldn't admit to anything and left, threatening to have him thrown out, which he'd told her was good, because he hated it there anyway.

When they found out who it really was, she didn't bother apologizing, and Jack didn't bother telling her that he'd told her so. He thought about it, sure, but the look she'd given the smug smile he fixed her with after the news had spread was enough to placate him. He didn't have to push her because he'd already won.

He tried to suppress the fact that he was actually quite hurt by the fact that she hated him when he had done nothing wrong.

Even if he _had _done something wrong, he was only a child after all, and children needed affection. His thoughts drifted, thankfully, to the time he'd spent with Nick and with Lily. He was glad to have met them and he was so excited to be going somewhere with them. Jack spent awhile imaging where they would go. He indulged in fantasizing that some of the things they'd said were true and wondered what it would be like to fight crime with them, or slay dragons. He gave himself magical powers, too, it was his daydream after all and why shouldn't he enjoy it? He rode the winds, having command over the snow and ice that readily fell out of him. North had giant swords that no other man had the powerful muscles to wield. Lily, he gave super strength and a large array of fighting skills. He thought maybe she would be good with fire-powers, but dragons already breathe fire so it would have been useless. The dragons and vampires that controlled them didn't even know what hit them.

Jack spent a few moments amused and proud before the dread started to sink into him firmly. He didn't know where the thought came from because it had been completely unconscious, but he started to wonder how it would be if they showed up tomorrow and couldn't see him anymore. What if they walked right through him? The fear of it didn't really make him sick, but almost. It made him feel heavy all over, almost like having a virus running rampant through his whole body and twisting his stomach.

He imagined what it might feel like to not be seen by them either, because he was pretty invisible to everyone else and it hurt, It would hurt so much worse for it to be Lily or Nick, because he knew what it was like to have them see him and he couldn't go back to how it had been before.

He tried to think of something else and the best he could come up with was what it would be like if they didn't even show up. What if they just forgot about him and didn't come?

Jack wished his brain would turn off and just let him sleep, because these thoughts were unwanted and he'd been having so much more fun when they were slaying vampires dragons together instead of forgetting that Jack existed. He took a deep breath, widening his eyes to keep the tears from spilling. He wouldn't cry, he would hold on to the promise of them, his new parents, who said that they would come back for him and he forced himself to believe.

-Page Break -

The sugar really helped, because without it Jack would have fallen asleep in the car. He was so tired since he'd barely slept. First excitement had kept him up, then his own treacherous thoughts that wormed their way into his brain and devoured up all his good fantasies, leaving darkness and pain in their wake. He hated how his mind sometimes did that when he was minding his own business.

Nick and Lily, thankfully, had shown up, and they'd even brought donuts and flavored milk! It was a good thing too, because before, when Jack hadn't been sure if he would ever see them again, he'd been too nervous to eat.

Lily had been the first to notice how tired Jack was, it probably had something to do with how slow he walked behind them down the stairs after they had come to his room to ask him excitedly if he was ready. She touched a finger to his cheek lightly, running it slowly under his eyes.

"Too excited to sleep, huh?" she teased. Jack smiled and nodded, knowing better than to tell them that he had been afraid they'd tricked him and wouldn't show up.

"That is more than ok, she wouldn't sleep either! I had to yell at her to close her eyes…more than once, mind you." Nick told him conspiratorially, eyes crinkling as his mouth smiled wide. Jack smiled back, thinking that Nick yelled all the time anyway, so it probably didn't matter.

"Anyway," Nick continued with a wink, "When we get to where we are going, I think you'll wake right up."

"And where is that, again?" Jack asked slyly to their great amusement. Jack tried to guess; he thought maybe they might take him to the playground, although it was cold out, they were all dressed warmly. Nick and Lily both had thick coats and Nick had his furry hat; Jack's hat and coat were warm enough, though nothing special, a matching dark shade of green, the hat striped with blue.

They both told him, once again, that he wouldn't be getting anything out of them. Nick made the mistake of telling Jack to 'guess away' and then had to playfully threaten to gag and blindfold him in the car to get him to stop.

-Page Break -

Jack wouldn't remember later whether or not his breath stopped, as he grinned widely. When Nick had told him that they were going somewhere that they knew he would like, he hadn't expected it to be somewhere that he actually _loved_. The building itself, with all of its treasure, was also very beautiful, at least to Jack.

It was immense; made of three stone symmetrical-looking squares in a line, each slightly taller than the last, like stairs. It clashed slightly with the circular windows, which were outlined in a polished sliver that matched the silver flecks in the building's stone. Jack absolutely loved it. As he grew older he would realize that he'd found the design clever, though he didn't have to words to describe why, he suspected it was the idea of contrast, he couldn't be sure.

He felt the same way about his favorite painting in the museum; there was a contrast to it that really spoke to him; it was what made him always want to come back to the museum (though it was a field trip the orphanage only took twice a year, the same as Symphony Hall, to make sure the kids were 'properly cultured').

Jack woke right up once he saw where they took him, his excitement replacing every feeling of tiredness, the doubts that clouded his mind forgotten, and didn't even think to ask how they knew about how much he loved the museum. He didn't think Ms. Madison cared enough to have noticed, and even if she had, Jack didn't think she would volunteer any information that might benefit him, since she hated him so much.

Jack was out of the car first so quickly Nick hadn't even turned it off yet.

"Can I show you guys my favorite picture here?" Jack asked them breathlessly, bouncing up and down in his excitement. Nick and Lily both smiled at one another, before smiling widely at Jack, Lily telling him to lead the way. Jack didn't care if they were secretly teasing him and his bubbling excitement. He grabbed both of their hands (delighted to be able to touch someone) and took them inside and to the right, where all the art from local artists were displayed, it was entire exhibit and though the others were often beautiful, this part was his favorite.

The painting was of a bridge over still water. It could have been duplicated a million times and Jack didn't think any other painting would speak to him this much. The moon was high and perfectly round, seemingly all seeing, but not bright enough to illuminate everything; it was painted with swirly strokes of dark colors, mostly blues and greys. There were two people on the bridge, silhouetted. They were facing one another, each reaching towards the other, but they weren't touching. It was this that made Jack feel like the painting was a personification of loneliness, and it was beautiful. A great and terrible beauty; the contrast of being with someone and yet feeling very alone. Wanting something just out of reach. He thought that maybe if they could just touch, everything would be different. Touch was important; they should have been holding hands, but something must have been holding them back.

Jack could relate, touch was important to him too, and he was just as lonely as he felt these two people were. He didn't know how to tell them how he felt about it, so he simply asked them if they thought it was pretty, because he did.

"Oh it's great." Lily told him. It was Nick's answer that blew Jack's mind.

"I better like it, I painted it!" he laughed loudly at Jacks expression, pressing a hand to his shoulder, squeezing in that familiar way.

* * *

A/N: I appreciate all the reviews, follows, faves!, and people who lurked and read! makes my life happy.

If you leave a review, I'll send you a quote from an upcoming chapter when Pitch finally shows up (which is taking longer than I expected) :)

Love you guys lots


	6. Museum

_Museum_

Jack did _not_ faint! He would argue this point for years to come while both Nick and (mostly) Lily would continuously make fun of his reaction. Nick would say something like, 'hey, did you know that I am an artist?' or he would finish a small masterpiece in his studio and say, 'I painted this, can you believe that?' and Lily would squeal and gasp, hand dramatically on her forehead, or over her heart, and she would pretend to swoon.

_Hilarious_.

Jack would try to keep himself from smiling and laughing because he didn't want to give them the satisfaction. He tried different responses to distract himself; rolling his eyes, folding his arms, and sighing loudly in annoyance, to name a few. He'd eventually fail the moment he looked at one of them, something that he honestly couldn't help, because if he waited long enough Lily would do something silly, like stick her face appallingly close to his causing him to look, and they would all laugh that much harder.

He'd tell them that he hadn't fainted, and that they really needed to stop! As if they would.

One day, after he teasingly told Lily that their jokes were not funny and were, in fact, getting old, she smiled patiently, hands folded on the kitchen table where she sat across from Jack, and told him very seriously that, funny or not, she had every intention of telling the story on his wedding day! When Lily saw the look that he fixed her with (both horrified and amused) she got up to stand close to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and reassured him that she was only joking. "And anyway Jackie," she continued seriously, "You really need to calm it down, wouldn't want you to _faint_!" She was just fast enough to run out of the room before the balled up napkin Jack threw at her could make contact. He could hear her laugh her way up the stairs.

Okay, Jack would admit, only in the privacy of his own mind, that maybe, just _maybe_, his vision grayed out the slightest bit. Maybe, in his excitement, he lost a small amount of balance and tipped sideways. And okay, so Nick _might_ have had to catch him, but he did not, what –so-ever, faint.

They laughed immediately, "Whoa, steady, tiger." Lily managed to get out, Nick laughed loudly and unobstructed, holding a blushing Jack tightly around the shoulders to keep him upright.

He was, just past his embarrassment, amazed that his favorite piece of art was actually created by someone he knew in real life.

Jack stood directly in front of the painting, his back to it, watching them laugh and quickly becoming suspicious, "you _knew_ this was my favorite painting, didn't you?" he asked them, watching through narrowed icy blue eyes, his arms folding across his chest. Nick simultaneously nodded and wiped tears from his face. He'd laughed himself to tears, and Jack knew then, that he would never live this down.

"Of course we did!"

Jack unfolded his arms.

Pleased that they hadn't lied, his suspicion evaporating. He appreciated the honest answer, especially since Nick hadn't hesitated.

The death of his mother and living at the orphanage had, at some point without his noticing, turned him into some sort of a mistrustful pessimist. He'd have to work hard to get over that.

"We saw you here, looking at it. Though, we didn't see you faint that time." Lily explained smiling widely.

_**And it begins**_, he thought, smiling, which he should not have done, because it probably encouraged her.

"I didn't faint!"

It took Jack a couple more seconds to understand the rest of what she said.

"You saw me?" he asked confused, "when?" he continued, looking up at them and waiting for more of an explanation. He'd been under the impression that that'd found him online.

"We came here, so that Nicolas could drop off some of his art, for a new exhibit they're trying to open, that deals with clay as a medium or something. I don't know I'm not the artist; you'll have to ask him about it." She waved her hand dismissively, "anyway, we saw all the kids in here, and found it just _fascinating_ how long you looked at this painting in particular…" Lily began to explain.

"Especially since everyone else was busy running through all of the hallways! Naughty children." Nick added, shaking a finger in reprimand.

"You intrigued us very much, Jack. We called orphanage very next day!" Nick continued. Jack was glad he'd called it an orphanage, instead of a group home or something.

It was starting to make sense now, how they knew the things his teachers thought about his art, his online profile that he hadn't even known existed until they'd told him.

He felt his eyes well up, the force of his emotion slowly built up in his throat.

He swallowed hard, frustrated to be crying again.

Jack didn't want to be a huge crybaby. On a completely subconscious level of his mind he wanted to be strong like Nick, whom he couldn't imagine crying for any other reason than laughter. But, despite his wishes, he of course began to tear up, and he hugged them again, desperate for physical contact. He wasn't exactly sure why he was crying, on some emotional over-load that made it difficult to dissect his own feelings past his need for constant physical affection. Lily had told him that he'd had a lot of pent up emotions and he might be weepy on and off for a while, until they found some stability. He didn't understand then, but was thankful for her kind words and understanding. He was too young to think of much more than the part where he didn't _want_ to be weepy for a while! Years later he would know that she was right, but that wasn't all of it; he was really crying because he had spent many long nights and days feeling unloved, unwanted, and lonelier that he thought possible. He'd felt worthless, and to find out that there were actually two wonderful people out there who had actually put a great deal of effort into getting to know him and actually wanted him. It was very overwhelming. They hugged for a long time, there in the art museum, and if it was embarrassing or if people were staring, Jack didn't care in the least.

-Page Break -

They were going to get kicked out. At least, Lily was completely convinced of this, considering she kept repeating it.

They were sitting in an auditorium, watching a documentary on the history of structural design as an art form. It was pretty boring; the announcer said everything in monotone and it was followed by still images to evaluate his points. Jack didn't want to announce that he was bored and tried very hard to keep his eyes focused on the screen. He began to yawn, his sleepless night catching up to him.

Nick leaned over Lily, where she sat between them, and told Jack he was glad that he wasn't the only one dying of boredom. Jack made a surprised sound that was supposed to be a laugh, but came out closer to a bark. He'd been caught off guard by Nick's joke; he was an artist and even he didn't like it. Lily couldn't actually be enjoying it either then, she'd made it clear that art wasn't something she was passionate about.

Lily hissed a short, "hush" in Nick's ear and he leaned back into his own seat. It was too late though, now that he knew Lily was the only one interested (she had insisted that they come in here) he wasn't going to be ignored. He began to pull at Jack's hair and his clothes from behind Lily's back and Jack tried to stifle his giggles before they both got into trouble. He shook his head quickly at Nick to signify his unwillingness to participate.

It wasn't long before Lily noticed Jack's laughter and pulled playfully on Nick's beard telling them both they would get kicked out if they didn't stop horsing around. Jack thought he heard her whisper, 'naughty children' but maybe not. He wasn't sure.

Nick raised his hands in defeat, earning him an eye roll from his wife. He placed his elbows onto his knees, to hold his head up, fists both under his chin. It was an act of obedience that Jack didn't believe in the slightest, because Nick was over there smiling mischievously.

He made it an entire minute before hitting Jack in the face with what appeared to be a gum wrapper. Though he wasn't chewing any gum. Jack wasn't sure where he'd gotten it, maybe his pocket, or maybe he'd found it on the carpet under the bench they sat on. Jack didn't care where he got it, he was glad to play, the video had begun talking in depth about stone gargoyles and how they reflected societal beliefs.

Jack threw it back; unfortunately, Lily was able to catch it as it sailed past her, before it could reach Nick.

Jack was pretty impressed with her reflexes.

She glared quickly at Nick before telling them, again, that they were going to get kicked out, only this time she added that it would be for disturbing the peace. Jack and Nick both looked around to note that there were only four other people in the room. Nick shrugged at him and gestured quickly to let Jack know that he he'd married a crazy person.

Jack covered his mouth with a hand, hoping to stifle all sound.

Lily sighed (trying to, Jack thought, cover her own laughter) and informed them that if security came in here, she was going to pretend she didn't know them.

It took them making faces at one another for her to realize that they were not going to behave and give them permission to leave. They walked out, her arms around Nick's waist, her other hand resting on Jack's shoulder, "You boys, what am I going to do with you?" she asked, giving Jack's shoulder a gentle squeeze. He had a feeling she squeezed Nick at the same time, and for some reason the idea made a tingle of happiness run quickly over his spine. He could feel it settle in his chest and the tips of his fingers.

It had been officially decided that Both Nick and Jack had no self control, and that any kind of formal education should be left for a later date.

"Are you guys hungry? Is that what's wrong? Low blood sugar has ya'll acting up?" Lily asked them. Jack _was _starting to get hungry, but didn't want to give her the satisfaction of blaming his behavior on his hunger. He looked at her smirking, and didn't answer.

"Okay I'll feed the animals, and then maybe you two can behave yourself for … lets agree on at least two more exhibits? _Before_ you start up again. I'm talking to you, Nicolas." She added sternly. He _had_ started it, hadn't he?

Nick smiled broadly and kissed her cheeks apologetically, which she wiped off with a hand, and proceeded to wipe on Jack's arm, feigning disgust. They all laughed.

"Ok, you feed us, and we promise to behave, scouts honor."

"Yea, scouts honor." Jack mimicked, grinning, she'd find out soon enough that he was never a scout. Nick, Jack thought, probably wasn't either.


End file.
